wolfism
22-12-2009, 11:36 PM
A few years ago, Inchterf was shrouded in secrecy, wrapped in razor wire and patrolled by Military Police dogs. All that leaked out was a series of ground-shaking explosions. Known by folk living in nearby Milton or Kilsyth as “The Gun Range”, today it stands silent, surrounded by reeds and boggy pools in the floodplain of the Kelvin.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-0005w.jpg
1
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-0007w.jpg
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http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-0009w.jpg
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The remarkable thing about the proving range isn’t the motley collection of buildings dating from the Great War through to the 1950’s, which are currently used by car mechanics and plant hire firms – but the line of enormous concrete structures which form the stop butts. These have some similarity to the Kreigsmarine’s U-boat pens at Brest – the scale of the concrete work is unbelievable. Unbelievable, until you realise that men stood 150 yards away and fired 12 inch artillery shells directly towards it using howitzers and battleship guns. Inchterf was designed by Beardmores for a very specific purpose – to be operated as a proving range. Most artillery ranges are practice ranges, designed to give artillerymen a chance to fire their guns during exercises. Some are zeroing ranges, where the accuracy of the guns and ordnance can be checked. But Inchterf was a proving range, where the explosive power of propellant, and the strength of gun barrels and breeches, was tested – sometimes to destruction.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-0011w.jpg
4
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-0012w.jpg
5
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-1030w.jpg
6
One reason I wanted to see Inchterf is that I developed a personal obsession with Beardmores when I was younger. It was difficult to find books about them, but I kept reading references to William Beardmore and the huge business he built in Glasgow, which at that time was the shipbuilding capital of the world. Beardmores were arguably the world’s first “integrated arms manufacturer”, in other words they made every kind of weapon system from the shell, to the gun that fired it, to the battleship it was mounted on, plus the machinery used to build all three. Beardmore senior bought the Glasgow foundry business of Reochs, and it grew rapidly through the 1870’s, in parallel with the British Empire’s appetite for war. At its height, William Beardmore jnr. ran a manufacturing business that employed 50,000 people: making airships, tanks, battleships, heavy artillery, taxis, trains, armour plate, prefabricated houses, diesel engines, submarines, light arms, ammunition, motorbikes, buses, aircraft, machine tools, iron and exotic steel alloys. Beardmores was the largest industrial conglomerate in Scotland, bigger even than the mighty Colvilles, John Browns or North British Locos. It was also one of the world’s largest arms manufacturers.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-1031w.jpg
7
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-1032w.jpg
8
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-1036w.jpg
9
Although Inchterf was only a small part of the Beardmore empire, more of it remains than any of his other undertakings. The battleship yard at Dalmuir was cleared decades ago, and the Parkhead Forge has long since been demolished – in its place stands a shopping centre. Although Beardmores made many things, their staple for many decades was artillery. The Parkhead Forge was an armoury, and its giant presses, lathes and mills turned out guns up to 16 inches in calibre. As a result, Beardmores needed somewhere to test their weapons, and now comes the true history of Inchterf. Contrary to what Secret Scotland say, the archives reveal that Beardmore set up their proof range at Inchterf in 1915, at the same time as they extended their Parkhead and Dalmuir howitzer plants. Inchterf was a farm on a sandy outcrop in the middle of a bog: “inch” is Scots for island, and “terf” means bog. The range was part of the great expansion in capacity which the War Department encouraged the firm to install … but then refused to pay for after the war was won! William Beardmore’s financial trouble in the 1930’s stems partly from the fact that although he helped to win the war, the Government didn’t keep their side of the bargain once it was over. Conspiracy theorists maintain that Beardmores’ rivals, Vickers, were pulling political levers in order to weaken them.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-2001w.jpg
10
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-2005w.jpg
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http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-2008w.jpg
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http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-0005w.jpg
1
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-0007w.jpg
2
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-0009w.jpg
3
The remarkable thing about the proving range isn’t the motley collection of buildings dating from the Great War through to the 1950’s, which are currently used by car mechanics and plant hire firms – but the line of enormous concrete structures which form the stop butts. These have some similarity to the Kreigsmarine’s U-boat pens at Brest – the scale of the concrete work is unbelievable. Unbelievable, until you realise that men stood 150 yards away and fired 12 inch artillery shells directly towards it using howitzers and battleship guns. Inchterf was designed by Beardmores for a very specific purpose – to be operated as a proving range. Most artillery ranges are practice ranges, designed to give artillerymen a chance to fire their guns during exercises. Some are zeroing ranges, where the accuracy of the guns and ordnance can be checked. But Inchterf was a proving range, where the explosive power of propellant, and the strength of gun barrels and breeches, was tested – sometimes to destruction.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-0011w.jpg
4
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-0012w.jpg
5
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-1030w.jpg
6
One reason I wanted to see Inchterf is that I developed a personal obsession with Beardmores when I was younger. It was difficult to find books about them, but I kept reading references to William Beardmore and the huge business he built in Glasgow, which at that time was the shipbuilding capital of the world. Beardmores were arguably the world’s first “integrated arms manufacturer”, in other words they made every kind of weapon system from the shell, to the gun that fired it, to the battleship it was mounted on, plus the machinery used to build all three. Beardmore senior bought the Glasgow foundry business of Reochs, and it grew rapidly through the 1870’s, in parallel with the British Empire’s appetite for war. At its height, William Beardmore jnr. ran a manufacturing business that employed 50,000 people: making airships, tanks, battleships, heavy artillery, taxis, trains, armour plate, prefabricated houses, diesel engines, submarines, light arms, ammunition, motorbikes, buses, aircraft, machine tools, iron and exotic steel alloys. Beardmores was the largest industrial conglomerate in Scotland, bigger even than the mighty Colvilles, John Browns or North British Locos. It was also one of the world’s largest arms manufacturers.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-1031w.jpg
7
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-1032w.jpg
8
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-1036w.jpg
9
Although Inchterf was only a small part of the Beardmore empire, more of it remains than any of his other undertakings. The battleship yard at Dalmuir was cleared decades ago, and the Parkhead Forge has long since been demolished – in its place stands a shopping centre. Although Beardmores made many things, their staple for many decades was artillery. The Parkhead Forge was an armoury, and its giant presses, lathes and mills turned out guns up to 16 inches in calibre. As a result, Beardmores needed somewhere to test their weapons, and now comes the true history of Inchterf. Contrary to what Secret Scotland say, the archives reveal that Beardmore set up their proof range at Inchterf in 1915, at the same time as they extended their Parkhead and Dalmuir howitzer plants. Inchterf was a farm on a sandy outcrop in the middle of a bog: “inch” is Scots for island, and “terf” means bog. The range was part of the great expansion in capacity which the War Department encouraged the firm to install … but then refused to pay for after the war was won! William Beardmore’s financial trouble in the 1930’s stems partly from the fact that although he helped to win the war, the Government didn’t keep their side of the bargain once it was over. Conspiracy theorists maintain that Beardmores’ rivals, Vickers, were pulling political levers in order to weaken them.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-2001w.jpg
10
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-2005w.jpg
11
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202009/inchterf-2008w.jpg
12